User Reviews

Notes from 7/20/11. Pours a bright orange amber with a nice white head. Aroma is kinda weak, but what’s there is nice. It’s mostly pineapple, lemons and pine resin. Some biscuity malt. Taste is mildly sweet with a kinda bland bitter finish. It’s not terrible, but there’s a cheap malty quality to the beer - sort of a musty grain note that you normally see in macro stuff but I’ve noted it before in other FS beers. Mouthfeel is sudsy with some nice hop oiliness, but it gets a bit watery in the middle. Decent but nothing special.

Medium goldenrod, fairly hazy body capped with a small and brief stay of off-white foam. Leaving a bit of skim and a thick collar. A few large stringy globs of lace stick to the glass.

Aroma is a boost of pine sided lemon and grapefruity hoppyness. Quite woody and leafy with a bit of biscuityy maltedness squeexed in for a drier nose as apposed to sweet.

Taste is a perculating amount of deep dark hops encompassing a whole lot of dark grapefruit rinds and lemony pine. Quite quick, brittle, and brisk with a huge sweep of bittering woodyness, followed with lots of leftover darker citrusy bitterness as well. Not much balance, as its a buzz of hops all over the palate. There's some malt back there doing its job as not to let those hops get totally out of control with a bit of caramel and biscuity breadyness. Enjoyable finish of hop complexity as it twsit and turns in a citrusy woody pine bite to more toasted and drying.

Pretty solid medium body, if not more so, as once you get about half way through the bomber you realize this may take a bit longer then first expected. Those hops really hit there make and take over the palate quickly, making a home on your cheeks and tongue and not easily removed. Perhaps sandpaper?

A solid IPA with its Impy take in an overall more hoppy finish and West Coast attitude then some of the more malty ones that are out there. A hophead delight.

A: Sturdy amber with 1-2 finger, off-white head with average retention and a smattering of lace.

S: Very grassy, herbal hoppiness with a lot of moldy hay type of aroma. Pale maltiness is barely there, clouded over by the dense, raw hops.

T: The flavor is also dominated by grassy hoppiness with a lot of spicy, herbal character. The pine and citrus elements are not very prominent, and the moldy hay, grassy component is too strong. This is a very raw-hops centered beer, much along the lines of DFH 60 Minute IPA. The malty sweetness has a touch of caramel but is mostly crackery pale malt.

M: This brew has a nice body, medium-full, with medium-high carbonation for the style. Aftertaste is grassy hops with some crackery pale malt.

O: Not a bad beer but definitely built for those who enjoy the herbal, raw plantiness of hops as it overwhelms most other flavor. I won't be going back for this one again as I like a more rounded citrus and pine resin flavor to a DIPA. This is barely in the DIPA zone at 7.5% ABV and with more of an IPA type of flavor and feel.

Elevation pours a hazy amber with a creamy white head on top. As the foam fades spots and lines of lace cling to the glass.

The aroma is all hops. Lots of orange citrus and pine with a hint of caramel sweetness.

Each sip of this full bodied beer is chewy with a dry finish. The flavor has lots of pine and orange citrus hops. The hop bitterness is balanced nicely with caramel and pale malt. It finishes bitter with lingering pine notes.

This is a tasty Imperial IPA that's loaded with hops, but with enough malty sweetness to balance the bitterness.

New Full Sail, picked up at Whole Foods, served into a large Chimay chalice. It pours a bright copper color with a very small, fading head. The nose offers a very big scent of very citrusy, somewhat resinous hops. Good grapefruit hop flavor up front, with high bitterness. Clean, simple malt. Light fruitiness. Dry finish. Nothing unexpected, or the least out of the ordinary here.

It is a very drinkable beer, but *yawn*, yet another imperial IPA. It seems like about 50% of all new beers are the same style.

Pours a hazy amber. Not much of a head, quickly becomes a thin ring. Mild lacing.

Strong grapefruit citrus in the nose. A good bit of pine as well. Malt sweetness comes through but sticks in the background...

Flavor sticks amazingly close to the nose. Grapefruit and piney bitterness, but I also get orange and tropical fruits. This is very much a citrusy beer. Malt backbone is there for support. It stays in the background, but provides some sweetness throughout and then blossoms in the finish. There is a strong lingering bitterness that feels like you actually took a big bite of grapefruit, not so bad, but not my favorite part of the flavor.

Body is a touch above medium and carbonation is medium-low, both seem appropriate for the style. The ABV is right in the zone that I prefer, lower than your average Imperial, but makes the beer much more drinkable.

Full Sail has always seemed to make better malt forward beers than hop forward ones, but this guy certainly changes my opinion on that. A solid IIPA.

A: Basically poured a gold color, with a mild reddish hue, and the millimeter or so head folded into a slight sawdust-like formation on top of the liquid.

S: Resiny and piney, fairly strong, and with a mild sugar content which lost out to the hops by a lot more than a nose.

T: Despite the nice nose, the taste was sorely lacking and crossed over into booze bomb territory. Additionally, the hop character was greatly muted by an undesirable soapy quality. The more I drank, this started to taste more like an unsuccessful amber than an IPA.

M: The carbonation was low, but okay, but I stated before, the booze was very transparent and killed this experience for me. The lacing was minimal.

O: Well, it got off to a good start, but the follow through was utterly disappointing.

Picked this one up the other day at Argonaut. Poured a nice medium orange-amber color with a nice fluffy white head. Aromas of fresh citrus, tropical fruit and pale malt. On the palate, this one was quaffable and medium bodied, with flavors of citrus, tropical fruit and pale malt.

A: Poured from the bomber into a Piraat tulip/snifter-type glass. Body is hazy amber with a 1-finger ivory head. Body becomes more orangey when backlit. A little bit of lace crawls down the side of the glass after each sip.

S: Pleasant nose, albeit one that's modest and not too strong. Mainly grapefruity citrus, but with some caramel malt too.

T: Brown-sugary caramel malt underneath, but it finishes with a substantial bitterness - maybe grapefruit peel or pit. Also some resiny pine lingering in the aftertaste and on the feel. A touch of spice goes along with that lingering bitterness.

M: Body is medium-to-full in heft. Carbonation is moderate, with a touch of bite to it.

O: Good. Wasn't blown away by this one, but I wasn't disappointed, either. Reasonably priced at $4.99 for the double-deuce.

A - Pours a neutral, medium amber with orangey highlights and excellent clarity. A finger of fluffy off-white head lingers briefly and then falls to the surface leaving behind a skim coat on the surface but no lacing.

S - Very floral hop aroma...like being in a garden. Some grassy hops kick in a bit but in a low, subdued way. Not much of a malt aspect to this beer...just a mild sugary sweetness. Aroma is pleasant but lacking in the intensity I expect out of a DIPA.

T - Good sized hit of hops up front. Fruity and bitter with citrusy grapefruit in the lead, floral and perfumey hops take over coming in behind the initial citrus hit. Smoothing sugary sweetness underneath the hops and into the finish. Tastes pretty good, but again, hard to call this an imperial/DIPA based on flavor. I do like what is there though.

M - Very smooth...the residual sweetness does its job evening out the sharpness of the hops and makes this beer go down extemely quickly and easily. Carbonation is lightish medium in intensity and quite creamy which goes to enhance the smoothness of this beer.

O - A good tasting hoppy beer, but perhaps missing a bit of "Wow" factor. Also, perhaps a bit too smooth for its own good. For an imperial IPA, this is lacking a bit of punch...tastes and feels more like a standard IPA. What is in there is good...just wishing there was a bit more of it.

A: Pours a reddish amber orange. Pretty darn clear. Barely any head, but what was there was fairly white. Some tiny bubbles off the bottom of the glass. Faint lacing.

S: Smells like a malt bomb. Lots of sweetness. The hops are hidden.

T: Shockingly it smells bigger than it is. It's fairly easy drinking. There IS hop bitterness, surprisingly. Right at the tip of the tongue is a sharp bite. The a smooth malt coating balances at the middle. The finish is so what clean.

M: Medium bodied with some mouth coating.

O: I have to go B- on this one. I wish the hops were more pronouced. I got lots of breadiness, so I wonder if it has some age.

T: Hoppy and piny with a woody body, and very nice bittersweet balance of licorice and butterscotch.

M: Full, but light and refreshing. Pungent throughout with a dry finish.

D: Sip, savor, and enjoy.

Atmosphere is pretty good here. Nice deep golden hue, with a slight head, and a fair amount of spotty lacing which quickly disappears. Nose is malty and piny with a woody tone. Flavor is woody with a really nice hop bite, and just enough balance of bittersweet. Overall, this is a really good quaff.

22oz bottle (no dates or codes) poured into a tulip. Hazy copper color with a thin white head that dissipates quickly.

Aroma is dank floral hops, slightly metallic. I've picked up some of these notes in other IPAs, probably a particular hop variety - not my favorite aroma.

Taste is floral, herbal with a good hop bitterness. I like the taste a lot more than the aroma. Nothing extraordinary but nice, earthy, balanced. This is a pretty average version of a NW style IPA/DIPA. The minimal head and low carbonation is pretty disappointing though.

Picked up a bomber this evening for $5.
Pours a clear, orangey gold. Not too much in the way of head, just a centimeter or so that dissipates into a patchy dusting almost right away. No lacing, either.
Smells pretty nice, with plenty of dry hopping. Not on the level that I'd expect from a double IPA, more in line with a perkier American IPA. Citric, with some resinous pine notes. Clean pale malt backs things up.
The flavor opens a bit sweeter than I expected. A full, juicy body with mellower than average carbonation. I like lower CO2 levels, so high marks for that. Not sludgy feeling, just big and rich, and a touch oily. Well balanced, with the malt steadying things maybe a little too well. A pleasantly simple, sugary, dough-like malt flavor, with enough hops in the finish to be pungent and citric. The hops do have a lot of flavor, but a bit more bite would be ideal. If i were given a glass without knowing what it was, and asked to say what style it was, I'd say a one and a half IPA. It comes across as a rich, drinkable IPA, but not the bitterness of a double. At 7.5%, the strength is more in line with the top end of a regular IPA. Regardless, it's got good flavor and I don't regret my purchase. No problems killing the bomber in a sitting.

A - Pours a very clear rusty orange/chestnut brown with just a short layer of white foam that quickly disappeared
S - really nice citrus aroma, mango, orange & grapefruit, really nice smelling beer
T - mango, grapefruit and orange and lemon rind, there is a bit of bitterness that seems to taste like the rind not hops. The flavor is good, not as strong as the aroma would suggest though. Not sure if i'd call this imperial, but its close in the feel. Not as malty as I would expect.
M - medium bodied, a bit watered down? for an imperial. I'd consider this just a regular IPA. decent carbonation
D - Very easy to drink and at 7.5% its not hard to go through the whole bottle. Very enjoyable though I feel this is more an IPA than an imperial IPA

to anyone who gives a darn, this beer is also of the Brewer's Reserve series

look at that fine head. majestic like the Orgeon peaks that supply the brewery with fresh water (i haven't seen them but Full Sail's website inspired me). hazy bright amber color. lacing is excellent: like a shop window at christmas

smells like C hops, though not of the purely grapefruity sort

malt contribution is evident but withdrawn: i don't think i would want to drink the pale ale version. generally sweetish (no, Tom Green, not Swedish) with some nuttiness

A tasty and restrained DIPA, with some depth and complexity and not over-the-top.

Pours hazy orange with a lively head and mild lacing. The aroma is sweet and smooth, with a tropical feel - mango, apricot and orange. The flavor is has a smooth papaya character with a deep, sexy musky orange on the back part of the tongue, trailing off to a citrusy bitter tang. The mouthfeel is smooth and thick, like a good fruit puree. There is little on the finish to suggest the strength of the brew, making this potentially a beer to watch carefully when drinking more than one.

pours an amberish copper with a decent off white head that quickly recedes but laces well.

a slightly toasty pale malt aroma first strikes me and its followed by citrus hops with a touch of herbal and piney hops behind that.

bitter citrus up front that quickly goes sweet and crackery from the malts. a bit of tropical fruit comes into play as well as a bit of pine on the finish.

medium bodied with a good level of carbonation for the style. and oily finish keeps the bitterness around after the swallow.

overall, its decent. definitely better than many, but nowhere near the upper echelon of the style. doesn't do enough to create its own identity. It drinks okay, and its a good deal at $5 a bomber, so I may have it again, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it when there are so many amazing examples of the style and this one is, well, forgettable.

Pours hazy orange/amber with a one finger white head that leaves a few spots of lacing and recedes to a light cap.

Aroma is quite citrusy, mostly orange peel, some grapefruit rind and lemon, resinous, hint of pine, good amount of bread and caramel malt. Very good strength.

Flavor is strong resinous hops, orange and grapefruit, pine, relatively strong caramel malt backbone which offers some sweetness and finishes with good bitterness. Alcohol is rather noticeable for a 7.5% brew.

Mouthfeel is medium-plus bodied, oily, strong carbonation.

Very good, but not great DIPA. Strong flavor of orange and citrus. Glad to have tried it.

Poured from a 22oz bomber into a tulip glass, no freshness date, but this showed up just this week at the local store.

This pours a copper/reddish color with a nice white head which leaves a nice lacing. The smell is of hops, mostly pine and caramel malts. The feel is medium. Taste is of pine hops and caramel malts, semi balanced, not super hoppy, but good enough, lots of malts. This isn't my favorite IIPA, but for $4 a bomber, this is pretty good and I'll get again.